Saw: Legacy Plot Details Revealed; Tobin Bell to Return

One thing that makes horror franchises attractive to Hollywood studios is that the genre doesn’t necessarily require a large budget to be effective. Such was the case for Saw, James Wan’s unassuming little horror flick primarily about two men held captive in a single room, and the lengths they would go to survive when threatened by a maniacal madman nicknamed Jigsaw. Made for a little over $1 million dollars, Saw would gross over $100 million worldwide, and spawn a franchise of 6 modestly budgeted sequels. The series as a whole — which went dormant after 2010’s Saw 3D: The Final Chapter — has so far over earned nearly $900 million worldwide.

Horror sequels subtitled The Final Chapter have a track record of rarely actually being the final entries in their series, and most fans knew it was only a matter of time until Saw returned to theaters for more traps and mayhem. That was confirmed last year, when Lionsgate commissioned Saw: Legacy, the 8th installment in the franchise.

Michael and Peter Spierig (Daybreakers) were subsequently brought on to helm the project, and now, Bloody Disgusting has revealed the first plot details for the film. Original Jigsaw actor Tobin Bell has also been confirmed to return.

“…Saw: Legacy will begin with bodies turning up around the city, each having met a uniquely gruesome demise. As the investigation proceeds, evidence points to one man: John Kramer. But how can this be? The man known as Jigsaw has been dead for over a decade. Or has an apprentice picked up the mantle of Jigsaw, perhaps even someone inside the investigation?”

Assuming the information is correct, this confirms that Saw: Legacy will be another sequel to the original series continuity, and not a reboot of the franchise. One aspect even some of Saw’s detractors have praised is the series’ tightly structured plot continuity, with each sequel always finding a way to tie into the films that came before. This runs counter to other horror franchises like Friday the 13th or Halloweenthat routinely begin new films by ignoring events from previous ones. The fact that Lionsgate has opted to continue this tradition so many years after The Final Chapter will no doubt please Saw diehards greatly.

As mentioned above, Tobin Bell will also be returning as Jigsaw. One assumes that his character will once again appear only in flashback sequences, as John “Jigsaw” Kramer died near the end of Saw III. Such are the hazards of creating a villain with terminal cancer. Unfortunately, other notable Saw villains — who both served as “apprentices” to Jigsaw after his death — Detective Mark Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) and Dr. Lawrence Gordon (Cary Elwes) are reportedly not set to reprise their roles. On the plus side, that means that the resolution to the central mystery in Saw: Legacy should truly be a surprise to viewers. Jigsaw would approve.